Locomotive-handling crane



June 17 1924.

J. S. TOWNSEND LOCOMOTIVE HANDLING CRANE Filed Aug. 8. 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 June 17 1924. 1,497,961

J. s. TOWNSEND LOCOMOTIVE HANDLING CRANE Filed 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 LOCOMOTIVE HANDLING CRANE Filed Aug. 8. i921 4 Sheets-Sheet June 17 1924. 1,497,961

J. S. TQWNSEND LOCOMOTIVE HANDLING CRANE Filed Aug. 8. 1921 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented June 17, 1924.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN S. TOWNSEND, 0F HARVEY, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO WRITING CORPORATION,

OF HARVEY, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

LOCOMOTIVE-HANDLING' CRANE.

1 v I Application filed August 8,1921; Serial m. 490,507.

T 0 all whom it may concern.

Be it known'that -I,"JoHN S. TOWNSEND, a citizen of the United States, residing at Harvey, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Locomotive Handling Cranes, of which the following is a specification. I U

Th s invention relates'to traveling cranes for use in locomotive construction and repair shopefor lifting a locomotive from one point in a shop to another, frequently over intervening locomotives on the floor of the shop. r I

The object of the invention is to provide a crane for this purpose which will lift the locomotive 'so high with reference to the crane itself that the crane may operate successfullyin a' building of very much less head room than is possible in the-structures of the prior art, it being obvious that a high building costs more in the first place and requires more heat every day to, inj'cold weather, keep it at a proper temperature.

The invention consists in a crane structure capable of attaining theforegoing objects, which can be comparatively ,easily and cheaply made, which is'satisfactory and ,Bfl'lClGIlt in use and is not liable to get out of order. The invention further consists in many features and details of construction which will be hereafter Inorefully set forth in the specification and claims. 7

Referring to the drawings in which like numerals represent the same parts thruout the several views, I I v Figure lis a side elevation of a crane embodying the features of this invention, show ing a locomotive raised to its extreme high position with reference to thecrane.

Figure 2 is a detail end View taken on the line 2-2 of Figure Figure 3 isa detail end view takenion the line 33, of Figure 2. v

Figure 4 is a detail end view taken on the linefl lof Figure 5. p a Figure 5 is a detail end {View taken from the left hand end of Figure 1 showing the method of connecting the front end of a locomotive to the crane mechanism.

Figure (Sis a similar viewon the line 6-6, Figure 1, showing the method of suspending the rear end of the locomotive from the crane mechanism. p v

Figure 7 is a general plan view of the scribed.

left hand trolley shown in-the upper left hand corner of Figure 1.

Figure 8 is a detail end view of a trolley and its lifting mechanism taken at the upper left hand corner of Figure 1 and also on the line 88 of Figure 9. e I

Figure 9 is'an enlarged face view of the trolley itself as shown in the upper left hand corner of Figure 1.

Figure 1 shows conventionally walls 12 of a building, having extending along them ledges 14 carrying the conventional form of runway girders 16 supporting the rails 18 on which travel thebridge wheels 20 carryingin conventional form crane bridge gird ers 22, spaced wide enough'apart to allow the locomotive indicated by the boiler 24,

the cab 26 and all attaohed'parts tormove up in between these girders without inter.-

ference with the lifting and other crane mechanisms Figures 5 and 6.

Running along the top of each bridge girder 22 is a conventional form of trolley track rail 28 onwhich travel trolley supporting wheels 30-32 carrying one or the other of the trolleys 34 or 36 of Figure 1.

These trolleys are identical except that they are reversely positioned and carry different tackle mechanism for engagement with the adjacent locomotive. Inorder to prop erly take carev of the load carried .by the trolleys each trolley is provided at the end nearest to the end of the bridge girder with a single pair of wheels 30, one on'each par,-

conventionally indicated in allel track 28 and at the opposite end Itoward the center of the crane with two op positely disposed pairs of wheels 32Yalso traveling on said rails, the two wheels 32 in,

each case being required in order to properly sustain the: load carried on that end of the trolley I in the manner hereafterde- The wheels 32 are preferably mounted on an equalizing truck 38 pivoted conventionally at 39 to the trolley.,

As indicated, each trolley has two parallel girders lO carried directlyvover the wheels justreferred to and spaced apart the width between the crane girders 22. These side girders 40 are connected {together at their rear ends, viz, the ends towardthe wall of I the building by cross members l2 and 44: themselves inter-connected byI-beams 46, all lying in the same horizontal plane as the beams 40 and thus f m ge h rizonta y disposed generally'U-shaped trolley frame on the base of which the hoisting mechanism comprising the usual hoisting drum 48, motor'50, etc-., clearly appearing in Figures 7 and 8 is mounted. K

In order, however, to not limit the height of travel of the load by the plane of this U-shaped member made up of parts &0, e2, 44, and 41-6, the side members of the U, viz, the portions of the members 40 which extend to the front of the trolley, viz, towards the center of the crane, are not connected together by cross members lying in the same horizontal plane as the parts just mentioned, but are as clearly shown in Figure 9 connected together by other higher placed cross girders 52 and 54; attached to the upper edges of the girders to, by any suitable means, thus at the inner end of the trolley greatly increasing the head room into which the locomotive has to be moved. I

Each two of these girders 52 and 54: are connected together near their opposite ends, and at proper points for the positioning of the lifting cables, hereafter referred to, by cross members 56 carrying a shaft 58 sustaining rotatable rope or chain carrying sheaves in suitable number as shown in Figure 7. Passing over each winding drum 48 and the set of sheaves 80 adjacent to it is a conventional form of rope or cable 82, also passing over acorresponding set of sheaves 86 carried on a tackle block 88 of conventional form adapted in the usual manner for connection, as for instance by a hook 90 to the load to be lifted.

In the construction used in connection with the rear of the locomotive the two opposite hooks 90 carried by the trolley 36 are attached by any suitable means, as for instance the eyes 92 to a cross beam 94L adapted to fit under the rear of the locomotive as shown in Figure 6. In the construction shown in Figure 5 the forward or boiler end 24 of the locomotive is suspended by a suitable cable or strap 96, from the cross beam 98 corresponding in function to beam 9 but this beam 98 being. above the main parts of the locomotive instead of below them has to be 'lifted'much higher with reference to the crane than beam 94 does. This is accomplished by detachably securing the ends of the beam 98 on suitable supporting blocks or plates 100 carried on the tackle blocks 88 located adjacent to the ends of that beam. The result of the construction just described isthat when the cables 82 controlling this beam 98 are sufficiently wound up by the conventional winding mechanism described, this beam 98 travels right up close to the sheaves 80 as clearly indicated in the upper left hand corner of Figures 1, 2, 3 and 5.

. Merely in order to show that the device is, in other respects than those specifically pointed out, a practical commercial form of trolley, the drawings show the usual driving or rack motor 110 geared in the usual maimer to drive the wheels 30. Forthe same reason the drawings show an auxiliary hoisting mechanism 112 of conventional form adapted to be used as'may be necessary in the work, particularly in assembling the beams 9a and 98 preparatory to actual locating them under the locomotive and beginning the lifting operation.

In the operation of the device the motors 50 are manipulated to raise and lower the locomotive from the ground to the position shown in Figure 1 vice versa and the motor 110 is operated to move the crane horizontally. I

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is U 1. In mechanism of the class described, a trolley for a traveling crane made with a horizontally disposed U-shaped frame suitably supported by wheels, a liftingmechanism carried by the base of the U-shaped frame and a load carrying'part extending across the free ends of'the U-member substantially higher than the body of the trolley whereby parts to be lifted can pass up into the trolley higher than the horizontal center axis of the trolley. V

2. In mechanism of the class described, a trolley comprising a horizontally disposed U-shaped frame, lifting mechanism including cables on the central cross bar of the U-shaped frame, cross members connecting the outer ends of the side members of'th'e U-shaped frame located above the general level of the frame so as to allow a part to be lifted and moved up into the frame, and means carried by the cross member over which said lifting cables driven by the lifting means may pass, for the purposes set forth.

3. In mechanism of the class described, a locomotive lifting crane consisting of a pair of Widely separated bridge members equipped ,with wheels for movement along a room, a pairof trolleys traveling on the bridge member, lei'igthwis'e' thereof, the structures of the trolleys at the ends nearest the center of the bridge members being open to allow movable parts to be lifted to pass up into the general frame of the trolleys, sheaves mounted on said last mentioned ends of the trolleys and above the general horizontal axis of the trolleys, lifting mechanisms on the opposite ends of said trolleys, hoisting cables or the like driven by the lifting mechanism passing over said sheaves, a pair of pulley blocks for each set of lifting cables for each trolley, means below one pair of'pulley blocks for attaching a beam thereto, such a beam connected thereto for supporting one end of the locomotive, means on the other pair of pulley blocks for supporting a cross beam thereon above the centers of the pulley blocks, a cross beam adapted to be so supported and means for supporting another portion of a locomotive from said last mentioned beam.

4. In mechanism of the class described, a pair of separated sheaves for load carrying cables, a set of power driven cables passing over said sheaves, a pulley block for the cables passing over each of said sets of sheaves, means on said pulley blocks for attaching the load below them, means on said pulley blocks for supporting a cross beam between said pulley blocks with its ends supported above the pulley blocks and a detachable beam for that use for the purposes set forth.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto subscribed my name. i

' JOHN S. TOWNSEND. l/Vitnesses:

O.L. COFFEY, S. T. SJOBERG. 

